Oh that valve! Now that you mention it, it would make sense. It might also be the mysterious occasional "ticking" noise that happens mid-brew and changes my pressure. You said the plastic bit was $6? Should I run down to NS tomorrow and grab one? How hard was it to get at the valve and service it? Thanks again, Helen.

I would if I lived close, it is only 6 bucks. I am guessing that might be failing and causing the pulsing you are just starting to see. It was not hard but you have to break it all down to get to it. I scraped and painted my frame a bit were some rust was while I fixed that so it was a good thing.

Thanks again, Helen. I think I might attack it tomorrow since I have to drop my better half off at work anyway. I'm intimidated by taking the frame out of the plastic and trying to figure out just how involved it is and what all needs to be disconnected. Any tips? If NS downtown doesn't have it, I'll have to order it from Ferndale or espressoparts.

Definitely going to be giving Simonelli a call in a few hours. Helen, how do I put this thing back together? There's a hard black retaining ring, it seems, as well as the green valve, the little spring, and the chewed up white thing that seems to hold the valve in the center. Is there a gasket that I need for the brass parts, or is it just teflon tape? Could this be the cause of all my problems:

-Inconsistent brew pressure?-Horrible rattling sound during the pump cycle?-Intermittent pulsing during the brew cycle?-HX flash steaming and losing water occasionally?

Also, I'm worried about the fact that it looks as if the three-legged plastic part comes from a much larger plastic assembly which is just...gone. Hopefully it's not inside the HX, but just to be sure I'm going to shop-vac it out with a micro hose kit.

Wow your looks much worse than mine did. Did you see my before and after parts photo? It shows what it looked like when I found it and what it was supposed to look like. A broken part in the works is bad and could have caused a lot of problems. I know it can cause the last two issues on your list, probably the first one, not sure about the rattle.

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